Incendiary missile



May 30, 1950 w. NICHOLAS INCENDIARY "MISSILE Filed April 23, 1945 William Nicholas 0; CQWWMM wmmm n Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED S (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) 9 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to incendiary missiles, and is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 484,170, for Incendiary missile, filed April 23, 1943, which matured into Patent No. 2,374,230 of April 24, 1945.

A purpose of the invention is to provide an incendiary missile which is quickly and easily opened upon striking target whereby the incendiary materials are released therefrom.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide an incendiary missile which is safe from accidental spilling or ignition during transportation to the place of use.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide an incendiary missile that is conveniently shaped for efiicient hurling by hand or by mechanical means.

Other purposes and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and in which:

Figure l is an elevational sectional view of the improved missile,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the missile shown in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a, detail view of a fastening means employed in securing the safety ring to the missile,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view of an igniter,

Figure 6 is a detail view of a portion of a fastening device,

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along line l--! of Fig. 6, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the edge of the missile with safety ring attached.

This invention provides a missile which can, if desired, be tossed by hand for a greater dis tance than ordinary missiles of comparative weight, due principally to the fact that it is shaped much like a discus. By this design, the missile may be hurled against the enemy target at a relatively great distance for a hand thrown missile, and upon striking the target the missile opens, releasing from within itself an inflammable liquid such as gasoline, which is sumultaneously ignited.

This invention is intended for both offensive and defensive action against the enemy, and may also be used for destruction by burning of our own material for such purposes as are dictated by the tactical situation.

Thus the missile housing is formed in the general shape of a hollow discus having an inner chamber containing an inflammable liquid. The housing comprises two concave dish shaped members which are placed together with their rims in contact and their concave faces thus forming between them a closed chamber. The two halves of the missile are connected inside the chamber by a compression spring which normally tends to force the two halves apart but is held in retracted position by a frangible member adapted to be broken when the missile strikes a target whereupon a suitable igniter ignites the gasoline as the now released spring pushes the two halves apart, enveloping the target in burning gasoline.

As shown in the drawing, such as Figure 1, there is a. hollow housing 2 having a concave upper member 4 and a concave lower member 6. The rim 8 of the upper member 4 is placed in contact with the rim [0 of the lower member 6 as shown, a suitable gasket 82 of rubber, neoprene, or other suitable material being located between the flat abutting surfaces of rims 8 and ID to make a liquid-tight joint between said rims.

The surfaces of the members 4 and 6 are flat in the circular area defined by a diameter between locations I and E6 to prevent unnecessary rolling and to permit stacking of the missiles. Members 4 and '5 are made of plastic or other material, preferably inflammable, such as pyroxylin, Celluloid, impregnated cardboard or treated paper, fibre, or other suitable materials.

The members 4 and 6 are firmly held together by means of a central frangible rod IS.

The rod l8 has an enlarged portion or head 20 formed at one end and a removable enlarged portion or head 22 located at the other end 25. As seen in Figures 6 and 7, the lower head 22 has a notch 21 cut out inwardly to line 23 and from top to bottom of head 22 for engaging a matching indented portion indicated by the cross hatched area 25 in Figure '7 and extending along rod I8 a distance equal to the vertical length of head 22 from top to bottom. The rod I8 is preferably made of such frangible material as glass or porcelain, and the removable head 22 may be made of any suitable material such as a plastic. The rod 98 extends through a bore 26 in a support member 28, said bore having an enlarged frustoconical portion 39 to provide a support for the sloping sides of head 29 of the rod IS. The bore 26 is further enlarged at 32 and the support member 23 has a flange 34 at its upper end. The flange 3 is removably secured to the inner surface 3% of upper flat portion l4!6 by means of studs 38 which have heads formed on both ends of the studs, and extend through holes in flange 3% and member 4 as shown. The said holes in flange 34 are keyhole shaped so the downwardly projecting heads of the studs are inserted through the enlarged portion of the keyholes and the flange 34 rotated slightly so the stud head bears over the reduced portion of the keyhole, thus holding the flange 5'4 against the surface 36.

The lower end 24 of rod I8 bearing head 22,

extends through a central bore 50 in a lower support 42 which is similar in construction to upper support member 28. The bore i6 is enlarged at 44 to support the sloping sides of member 22, and is further enlarged at as, the member '42 having a flange 48 having a plurality of'keyhole shaped holes through which studs 50 extend after passing through holes in lower flat portion 1 i-I e of lower member 6. When the heads of studs 53 pass through the enlarged portion of the keyholes in flange $8, the flange 4B is rotated slightly so the stud heads bear over the reduced portions of the keyholes thus retaining theflange 333 in contact with member I; at the location i i-4G.

Y coil spring 52 connected at its upper end to the outer surface of upper support member 28 by means of rounded projections or tongues 5 formed by cutouts on member 28 as shown, is connected at its lower end to lower support member 42 by means of rounded projections or tongues .56 engaging the end coil of the spring. Since the spring 52 acts to force members i and 6 apart, it is apparent that rod It holds the supports 28 and '42 and hence the members 4 and '6, together .in opposition to the spring 52.

Member 4 has a circular opening '5'? formed through part of "its flat portion I EI6 through which an inflammable liquid 53 may be poured to fill chamber 50 inside housing 2. The holes 6! formed in member 23 by cutout tongues '56, .permit the liquid 58 to flow into chamber fit.

:A threaded plug 62 engages threads 6% inside enlarged bore '32, serving to close opening 5'?! against leakage of liquid with the aid of a suitable rubber gasket 66 located between the sloping portion of plug 62 and the sloping inner walls of opening 51 as shown. Plug 62 may be turned -'i into place and tightened by any suitable means, one of which is by inserting the pointed ends of two rifle cartridges mounted on a cartridge clip, into the two recesses 88 in the top of plug 6'2 and thus rotating the plug 62 as desired.

It will be'noted that support members 28 and d2 have flanges it and 12 respectively. An igniter or ignition member 14 having acylindrical housing 16 and an upwardly extending ignition rod 18 is located with its housing 'lfi secured to flange '12 by any suitable means such as'by one or more screws iii), and the upper end of rod 13 extending loosely through hole 82 formed in flange Ill. The rod 78 is bent over at 84 as shown, after insertion through hole'BZ. As shown in Figure 5, the lower end 85 .of rod 18 is secured to an upwardly movable disk 88 so that as rod i8 is pulled upwardly the disk 88 draws a matchcomposition iii] and an oxidizing composition '92 over the roughened upper interior walls 9d of housing 16, igniting the match composition and in turn igniting thezcombustible walls of housing l6 which is made of suitable highly inflammable material such as Celluloid. The housing 76 is tightly sealed by any suitable means to prevent any liquids from entering it until its contents and walls are ignited. As shown in Figure 5, a partition 96 of paper or other suitable material, separates compositions Stand 92,.and adiskSB of any suitable material such as cardboard covers the surface of composition 99. The rod '88 extends through the center of the .igniter as shown, protruding through a hole I fill in one end of the cylindrical housing 16. A number of igniters it may be disposed between flanges and 'IZsidebyside if-deemed-necessary.

The upper missile body 4. and lower missile body '6 are in :contact along:theabuttingsurfaces I62 and I94 of their rims '8 and II) respectively. The annular gasket I2 of neoprene or other suitable material not readily affected by gasoline, is located between surfaces Hi2 and I04 to eifect a liquid-tight seal against leakage between said surfaces. The lower rim Ill is bent upward slightly at I I2 to provide a shoulder or support for the outer edge of rim 8 and also to prevent gasket I2 from projecting outwardly from its indicated location. The lower rim I0 extends radially outward beyond upper rim 8 to location H4. By this construction, the lower rim will strike a target before upper rim 8, the contact with the lower rim beingat location 1 M. 'When the lower rim' strikes against the target at the location lit, the movement of lower rim will besuddenly arrested, but the upper rim "8, not being in contact with the target, will, due'to its inertia, continue its motion toward the target. The result will be to subject the frangible rod I8 to a bending stress since its lower portion is snugly fitted into bore 49 attached to :memberfi and its upper portion is snugly fitted into 'borelii attached to upper member "4. The stress will break rod -I8,

thereby allowing spring152 to-expand, pressing members 4 and 6 apart and allowing the inflammable liquid 58 to flow out of the chamber against the target. At the same time, the separation of flanges it! and 12 caused by spring 52, causes rod 18 to be pulled upwardly, drawing the compositions 99 and. '92 over the roughened surface 94, igniting them and the inflammable walls of cylinder '76, thereby ignitingthe inflammable liquid 58. Thus a burning liquid 'iscast against the target and the object of the'inocndiarymissile accomplished.

To avoid-the danger from accidentally dropping the missile on its edge and thus causing it to ignite, a removable annular member or safety ring I I6 of soft sheet metal or other material is provided, as shown in Figures 2 and 8. Member H6 has an outside diameter equal to that'of lower member 6 so its outer edge I I8 extends radially outward just as far as edge 'I I4 of member 6.

Safety ring H6 is fastened over the rim of upper member .4 in any suitable manner such as by means of tongues I29 formed in any 'usual manner in ring H6 at-a number of locations along its circumference, the tongues being inserted downward through holes I25 formed in the extended portion of rim It just beyond the edge of upper rim 8. The tongues extending through each hole I24 are then bent over at I26 in opposite directions as shown. It is thus seen that the ring lit, with its tongues I25, prevents any accidental separation of the two halves 4 and 5 of the missile by firmly holding the rims B and I9 together, and thereby prevents its accidental ignition even if, for example, the frangible rod iii should be broken.

For easy removal, safety ring H6 is provided with extensions 1'28 projecting beyond rim In at each fastening point I253, and corresponding'cutout portions ite nearby. Thus the safety ring maybe removed by grasping the extensions I28 with one hand and the exposed portion of rim 1 I! with theother and suddenly pulling the hands apart, thus pulling the tongues 429 out of holes lid.

To assemble the missile, the following sequence may be used. The spring 52 is assembled to the two support members 28 and A2 the latter carrying igniter 14, and then the two members -compressed together and the rod l8 inserted through the bores 26 and 40 whereupon the lower head 22 is fitted to the notch in rod 18 and the compression released. The rod 18 is bent over at 84. Gasket I2 is placed on rim ID. The members 4 and 6 are then placed with their rims together and the support and spring assembly between them. The members 4 and 6 are pressed together and, the studs 38 and 50 having engaged the supports 28 and 42, the members 4 and 6 are given a slight rotation in opposite directions, locking the studs and supports together. The missile may then be filled through the upper central opening as described above. The safety ring H6 is preferably attached before filling.

Although the invention has been described in specific terms, it is to be understood that many changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement within the spirit of the invention and its scope as claimed below.

I claim:

1. An incendiary missile comprising a hollow body formed of two dish shaped halves arranged with their concave sides facing each other and with their rims in contact, thus forming a chamber in said body; a quantity of inflammable material located in said chamber; means within said body normally tending to separate said halves; ignition means arranged in said chamber and operating, upon separation of said halves to ignite said inflammable material; elongated frangible means within said chamber constructed and arranged for maintaining said halves in contact; seal means constructed and arranged for effecting a liquid tight seal between the respective rims of said halves; removable safety means engaging said rims, and inertia actuated means constructed and arranged for breaking said frangible means on impact of said missile against a target.

2. An incendiary missile comprising a hollow casing formed of two dish shaped halves arranged with their concave sides facing each other and with their rims in contact, thus forming a chamber in said body; a quantity of inflammable liquid located in said chamber; means within said casing normally tending to separate said halves; ignition means carried by at least one of said halves and operating, upon separation of said halves, to ignite said inflammable liquid; an elongated frangible member within said chamber constructed and arranged for maintaining said halves in contact; seal means constructed and arranged for effecting a liquid tight seal between the respective rims of said halves; a removable safety ring member engaging said rims, and inertia actuated means constructed and arranged for breaking said frangible member on impact of said missile against a target.

3. An incendiary missile comprising a hollow casing formed of two dish shaped halves arranged with their concave sides facing each other and their rims in liquid tight contact, thus forming a chamber in said body; a quantity of inflammable liquid located in said chamber; resilient means within said casing normally tending to separate said halves; elongated frangible detent means carried by said respective halves within said chamber for maintaining said halves in contact; ignition means constructed and arranged for igniting said liquid upon separation of said halves; and inertia actuated means on said casing, operable upon impact of said missile against a. target, for breaking said frangible detent means.

4. An incendiary missile comprising a hollow casing formed of two dish shaped halves arranged with their concave faces facing each other and their rims in liquid tight contact, thus forming a chamber in said body; a quantity of inflammable liquid located in said chamber; spring means within said casing normally tending to separate said halves; an elongated frangible member jointly carried by said halves within said casing connecting both of said halves and constructed and arranged for holding them in contact and to break on impact of the missile against a target; ignition means constructed and arranged for igniting said liquid upon separation of said halves; the rim of one of said halves having a larger outside diameter than the other of said halves whereby the larger rim will strike a target in advance of the smaller rim and have its motion arrested first, and said smaller rim will slide over said larger rim, the resulting displacement breaking said frangible member.

5. The structure of claim 3 in which a removable metal ring is provided to secure said halves against separation until said ring is removed.

6. The construction of claim 4 wherein a removable safety ring is provided to secure the abutting rims of said respective halves against separation until said ring is removed.

7. An incendiary missile comprising a hollow casing formed of two dish shaped halves arranged in coaxial relation with their concave faces facing each other and their rims in liquid tight contact, thus forming a chamber; a quantity of inflammable liquid located in said chamber; spring means within said casing normally tending to separate said halves; an elongated frangible member whose axis is normal to the plane of said rims, said member connecting said halves Within said chamber to maintain them in contact; ignition means constructed and arranged for igniting said liquid upon separation of said halves, removable safety means carried by the abutting rims of said halves, and inertia actuated means operable upon impact of said missile against a target, and constructed and arranged for breaking said frangible member.

8. The construction of claim 4 wherein said member comprises an elongated rod whose axis is normal to the plane of the rims of said halves, said member having frangibility substantially equal to that of glass.

9. The construction of claim 4 wherein said member is fixed against tilting movement relatively to one said half, whereby relative movement of said halves parallel to the plane of their rims applies a bending moment to said member to break the same.

WILLIAM NICHOLAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,682,560 Gruber Aug. 28, 1928 2,080,896 OLeary May 18, 1937 2,374,230 Nicholas Apr. 24, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,553 Great Britain 1915 133,079 Great Britain Oct. 9, 1919 

